The Happy Place

Happiness is a place. This is where we write about it. Stories from the Gallivant and the community around us. Some pieces are practical, some just describe why we were so bold to call this area ’The Happy Place.’  All written, first hand, by our team, not AI. Short enough to read with a coffee, there’s a new one every fortnight.

Get more happy news

Reception drinks on the terrace at The Gallivant

A note from Harry

The Gallivant story told by Harry, the owner.

16 October 26
No 11 – An evening I’ll remember forever
Many of you will have read this week that J-P Mayhew, who has owned the building that houses Rules for the past forty years ...
Read more
1 October 26
No 10 – When was your last pinch me moment?
Arriving at the Gallivant the other day was a bit of a pinch me moment in the history of ...
Read more
18 September 26
No 09 – Remember what eating out used to be all about?
Everywhere I read right now, I hear the same thing: it's all about ...
Read more
3 September 26
No 08 – Have I bitten off more than I can chew – 4th Sep 2026
I’m writing this sitting in my car outside Romney Bay House. It looks in a very sad way ...
Read more
19 August 26
No 07 – You stay classy, San Diego – 20 Aug 2026
Elise, Matthew and I went out for dinner last night.  No reason in particular but ...
Read more
6 August 26
No 6 – Mad as a March hare – 6 Aug 2026
In 2022 I purchased Romney Bay House, a small hotel sitting all alone ...
Read more
24 July 26
No 5 – Gallivant Beach Club – 24 Jul 2026
It seems everyone I meet has got a memory about coming to Camber beach ...
Read more
30 June 26
No 4 – Learning to become a Jedi Master – 3 Jul 2026
As anyone who knows me will confirm, aside from a urge to catch salmon, my biggest, life consuming passion is ...
Read more
18 June 26Long calming walks along the huge sandy beach at Camber only 2 hours from London
No 3 – The not hotel hotel – 19 Jun 2026
Many years ago I was told about the Elevator Pitch. It’s what great brand owners can do ...
Read more
4 June 26
No 2 – The big fork mystery – 5 Jun 2026
The last couple of weeks have reminded me just how remarkable our ...
Read more
21 May 26Beachside wedding ceremony at The Gallivant, Camber Sands
No 1 – From Venice Beach to Camber Sands – 22 May 2026
I still remember the very first time I walked onto the beach at Camber. It was the last 1990's...
Read more

Interviews

Team members, suppliers, people who help make the Gallivant what it is

2 October 26
The person you become,  Charles Morris on identity, true stories and the slow beauty of the English coast.
Guests ask about the planting behind The Gallivant more than almost anything else.
Read more
19 August 26
Every room needs a memory: Sigrid Cragoe on nostalgia by the sea
Sigrid Cragoe collects the things most people gave away. Boxes of other people's holiday slides. Games that fell out of fashion. Scarves bought as souvenirs by strangers.
Read more
6 August 26
Marigold Secker: The Garden Nobody Waters
Guests ask about the planting behind The Gallivant more than almost anything else.
Read more
24 July 26
Making happiness a place: Elise Roberts on running The Gallivant
Elise Roberts has spent the best part of a decade helping to shape The Gallivant...
Read more
3 July 26
From tech PR to Pinot Noir: the woman behind England’s largest organic vineyard
She co-founded Hotwire, the London tech PR agency that grew into a global business...
Read more
19 June 26India - Head of Wellness
The breath, the beach, and the woo
She has taught yoga in a rice paddy in northern Thailand, led a pilgrimage across India, and ...
Read more
5 June 26
Sigrid Cragoe dressed Hollywood for twenty years. Now she dresses the Gallivant.
For twenty years, she dressed stars in the film industry in Los Angeles. Now she ...
Read more
21 May 26Matthew - Executive Head Chef
Matthew Harris: the chef who left London and never looked back
He is the force behind Harry’s kitchen at the Gallivant, and we sat down with him to learn ...
Read more